Survey on the incidence of zoonotic disease caused by Cryptococcus neoformans in a domestic cockatiel

Cryptococcus is the cause of cryptococcosis especially in people with immunodeficiency’s systems. Cryptococcosis is caused by Cryptococcus neoformans or Cryptococcus gattii. This study was conducted to investigate the infection of domestic cockatiels with Cryptococcus neoformans in Ahvaz. A total of 58 sample of faeces (18 cloacal swabs, 40 dry faeces) were collected from domestic Cockatiel in Ahvaz. The DNA of the samples was extracted for PCR test. A pair of primers was used to identify positive isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans. In the following, Nested PCR was used to increase the accuracy of identification. Totally 4 out of 58 samples (6.89%) were contaminated with C. neoformans. In this study, 2 out of 18 cloacal swabs samples were positive for culture (11.11%) and 2 out of one 40 dry fecal samples of domestic cockatiel were positive for culture (5%).Their variety and serotype were determined. four strains were isolated, all C. neoformans strains belonged to serotype A and thus identified as c. neoformans variety grubii. Due to the contamination of domestic cocktails with C. neoformans, people with immunodeficiency’s systems, such as AIDS and HIV should avoid contact with domestic cockatiel. Also, pet shopes are important in viewpoint of public health.